Darina Allen: Madhur Jaffrey's butterflied leg of lamb is a summer feast

Sun will shine again for outdoor feasts

Nothing beats the tantalising aroma of a piece of good beef, a lamb chop or a whole fish sizzling on an outdoor grill or barbecue. 

I’m daydreaming as the rain pours down in torrents, but the sun will shine again, and I’ll be out in a flash to grill up a storm.

I really love to cook over the fire. I can make magic in a little circle of stones on the strand. 

Even sausages take on a new dimension of flavour when eaten outdoors but during these crazy uncertain weather patterns, you can’t beat the Weber covered barbecue. 

For a more sophisticated barbecue, how about a butterflied shoulder of lamb marinated with lots of spices. This Madhur Jaffrey version is definitely one of my favourites, have a bowl of banana raita, some Ballymaloe relish, a few poppadums and you have a feast.

It’s peak summer fruit at present, lots of currants and berries, which of course you can serve just as they are, piled up in a bowl with lots of cream and a good sprinkling of castor sugar and maybe a scattering of shredded mint leaves. 

Hope you loved the summer fruit salad flavoured with the haunting lemony aroma of sweet geranium leaves from a couple of weeks ago. 

It’s fresh and gorgeous and actually keeps in the fridge for up to a week. We love it for breakfast too with a dollop of yoghurt.

This sweet geranium plant which is one of my signature flavours is a must-have on your windowsill. You’ll find it in many garden centres. The Latin name is Pelargonium graveolens. 

Look out for it, you’ll find so many ways to use it. If you don’t already have it, you’ll wonder how you ever lived without it.

But this week, let’s make delicious use of the apricots that we’ll have for just a few more weeks.

Madhur Jaffrey’s Butterflied Leg of Lamb

Ask your local butcher to butterfly the leg of lamb for you – it’ll take a bit of time to make the marinade, a labour of love but so worth it. Don’t be intimidated by the long list of ingredients, it’s only a matter of adding all the spices to the mix.

Servings

12

Cooking Time

 50 mins

Total Time

 50 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 1 leg of lamb, butterflied (3.4-4kg)

• 1 medium sized onion, coarsely chopped

• 1 piece of fresh ginger 7.5cm x 2.5cm long, peeled and coarsely chopped

• 7 cloves of garlic, peeled and coarsely chopped

• 175ml freshly squeezed lemon juice

• 1 tbsp ground coriander

• 1 tbsp ground cumin

• 1 tsp Garam Masala (see recipe)

• 1 tsp ground turmeric

• ¼ tsp ground mace

• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg

• ¼ tsp ground cinnamon

• ¼ tsp ground cloves

• 225g olive oil

• 2-2 ½ teaspoons salt

• ¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper

• Garnish:

• Spring onion and radishes

• Ballymaloe Relish (optional)

Method

1. Whizz the onion, ginger, garlic and 4 tablespoons of lemon juice in a food processor or liquidise for about a minute. Put this paste into a bowl, add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.

2. Cut off all the fat and tissue from the meat and make lots of holes in it with the point of a knife, rub the paste well into the meat and make sure it goes into the holes.

3. Cover and refrigerate for 24 hours.

4. Turn it over several times during that period. Light the barbecue 15 minutes ahead if you are using natural charcoal otherwise 45 minutes or better still an hour before you start to cook.

5. Lift the meat out of the marinade and drain for a few minutes. Sear on both sides first then raise the rack to the uppermost notch and cook for 20 minutes on each side.

6. Brush frequently with the marinade until it’s all used up. The meat needs to cook for about 50 minutes in total and should be very dark on the outside but still pinkish inside.

7. To Serve:

8. Slice into thin slices with a sharp knife. Serve immediately on a hot serving dish garnished with spring onions, radishes and flat parsley. Add a bowl of yoghurt and fresh mint or a raita. Ballymaloe Relish is a particularly delicious accompaniment.

Poached Apricots with Sweet Geranium Leaves

recipe by:Darina Allen

A gorgeous combination – another way to use the leaves of your sweet geranium plant.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 10 mins

Total Time

 20 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 4-6 large lemon-scented geranium leaves (Pelargonium Graveolens)

• 175g sugar

• 225ml cold water

• 450g fresh apricots, left whole or cut in half and stoned

•  

Method

1. Put the sweet geranium leaves into a saucepan with the sugar and water and bring slowly to the boil.

2. Meanwhile, add the apricots whole or if you prefer, slice the apricots in half and remove the stones.

3. Cover the saucepan and simmer until the apricots are soft (5-10 minutes depending on ripeness and whether they are stoned or not).

4. Turn into a bowl, serve chilled with Jersey pouring cream.

Hot Tips

Savour Kilkenny

Let’s all meet at the Savour Kilkenny Food Festival which runs from October 27th to 30th 2023. 

Taking place over the October Bank holiday weekend. The event celebrates the produce, food and culture of the Kilkenny area. 

Rory, Rachel and I will take to the demo stage over the weekend and I’ll have copies of the newly published ‘New Ballymaloe Bread Book’ by Gill Books (due for release on the 26th October 2023).

• For more information, see www.savourkilkenny.com

Kells Gin Award

Bravo to Kells Gin who just scooped a double gold at the recent International Spirits Challenge. A lockdown project with the assistance of Listoke Distillery, Kells Gin is the brainchild of brother and sister duo, Vincent and Olivia Duff in Kells, Co. Meath – in less than two years on the market, it has won three international awards.

• Check it out, see www.kellsgin.ie